


Repeat

by Demenior



Category: Animorphs - Katherine A. Applegate
Genre: Alternate Ending, Unhappy Ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-08
Updated: 2013-10-08
Packaged: 2017-12-28 19:54:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 515
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/995908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Demenior/pseuds/Demenior
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>We've been here before.<br/>You're just not paying attention.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Repeat

**Author's Note:**

> Needles, tied to tables, incoherency ahead. Think torture dungeon but without the intent on pain. If that bothers you, hop out. Also some existential terror.
> 
> *Ending is directly from chapter 1 of The Invasion, just slightly out of context for wham effect.

_“Ram the Blade Ship”_

 

Jake wakes up screaming. His tongue is dry, there’s something between his teeth—he can’t close his mouth. His body feels out of place, stretched and tight that it didn’t only seconds ago.

He’s not on the _Rachel_.

They're facing him in a circle—the others—the _Animorphs._ Everyone is tied to a table. They're all terrified.

Rachel is there. Her face is different. Not the way Jake remembers. She’s crying. Her hair is floating above her head, even though they’re upright and gravity should be pulling them down.

“I’ve been waiting for so long,” she whispers.

“What’s going on?” Cassie is crying, tears rolling down her cheek. They’re collected into a jar as they fall from her face.

Jake is suddenly aware of the _shapes_ moving between the six of them. They’re carrying _things_ in what can’t be but function as arms. They don’t have faces nor legs or feet they move but they don’t walk they just _are_.

A needle is shoved into Tobias’ wrist and he gasps loudly. Jake feels the prick as one enters his own system.

He’s remembering… they _all_ are remembering.

 “Where are we?” Marco shouts. He’s terrified. Blood is being drawn from his neck.

YOU HAVE ALWAYS BEEN HERE

The strap between Jake's teeth is removed and a caustic liquid is poured down his throat. He coughs and sputters, working his sore jaw through movement. The voice is all around them, vibrating in their very bones and through the darkness they are trapped in.

HAVE YOU LEARNED?

“Learned _what_?” Jake cries, and his voice is sandpaper on stone.

The memories, they’re surfacing. They’ve been here before. They’ve been here so many times. But they always get the answer wrong. What’s the right answer? What have they said before?

<What are we supposed to learn? Who are you?> Ax is terrified and Jake can feel it. It makes his blood run cold and his heart rate increase.

The voice sounds disappointed.

WE WILL TRY AGAIN

“What does that mean?” Tobias shouts as Rachel begins to sob.

There’s another needle to their necks, a tube down their throats. They’re choking, liquid filling them, it’s going into their lungs.

NOW PAY ATTENTION

 

CHAPTER 1

 

Marco and I had run out of quarters for the games, right when he was ahead by a lot of points. Mostly, we're equally good at games. I have Sega at home so I get lots of practice time in, but Marco has this amazing ability to analyze games and figure out all the little tricks. So sometimes he beats me.

Well, anyway, we were out of money and getting ready to head home when we ran into Tobias. Tobias was . . . I mean, I guess he still kind of a strange guy. He was new at school, and he wasn't the toughest kid around, so he got picked on a lot.

We were heading for the exit when I spotted Rachel and Cassie.

So, there we were. The five of us - Marco, Tobias, Rachel, Cassie, and me. Five normal mall rats heading home.


End file.
